Brits lose more than £3 million down the sofa each year

With the old £1 coin due to expire next month, research has revealed that Brits could be sitting on a fortune, as more than £3 million is lost down the back of the nation’s sofas each year.

ScS, one of the UK’s leading sofa and carpet specialists, carried out the study to find out exactly what Brits are losing down the back of their sofas every day.

The sofa and flooring expert is encouraging people to spring into action and discover what’s hidden down the back of their sofa, with three quarters of Brits reporting that they had found money in their sofa while cleaning, and two in five (42%) found more than £10.

When asked about new notes and coins, the majority of people surveyed (84%) said they are confident that they know the recent changes to British currency,

Looking at which age groups feel most confident with the changes, 95% of those aged 18-24 think they know about all of the changes to currency, compared to 76% of people in the 45 – 54 age bracket. When it comes to who is actually the most money-savvy, the younger age group were actually the least knowledgeable overall, with one in five believing that old currency will always be legal tender.

The research also looked in to the most common misconceptions surrounding the changes to the £1 coins. They are:

- 47% don’t know that the old £1 will no longer be legal tender after 15th October 2017

- 16% believe they have until 2018 to spend old £1 coins

- 12% think that they will always be able to spend old £1 coins

Aside from cash, the most common items Brits have found when cleaning their sofas include uneaten food (27%), car keys (21%), glasses (18%), lost bankcards (15%), and even underwear (8%). Looking at some of the more obscure items found in our sofas, respondents admitted to discovering old chewing gum, scissors, dog chews, a condom and even a couple of mice!

Lindsey Duncton, ScS Marketing Manager, said: “With the recent changes to British currency, we wanted to find out how many people are aware that they need to spend their old pound coins before the deadline and encourage Brits to check down the back of their sofas to make sure they aren’t missing their.

“According to our research, 76% of UK adults clean their sofa less than once a month on average, so if there are any hidden round pounds hidden down the back now’s the time to scoop them up - we were amazed to find out just how much cash we’re misplacing in our sofas!”